Plot
Dreamworks Pictures has taken the biblical story of Exodus, put it into cartoon form, and released it on the big screen as an epic animated feature. The Prince of Egypt tells the story of Moses releasing the Jews from Egyptian slavery under the hand of the evil pharaoh Rameses. Think of The Ten Commandments with songs and an all-star cast doing the voices. In the Charlton Heston role of Moses is Val Kilmer. Moses' brother Rameses, previously played by Yul Brynner, is now voiced by Ralph Fiennes. The story revolves around these two close brothers, Moses and Rameses. While Rameses is groomed to take over the land, his beloved brother Moses is a carefree prankster, until he learns the true secret of his past. His secret, of course, is that he is really a Jew and as a child was floated down the river to escape mass genocide. The pharaoh Seti (Patrick Stewart) raised Moses as his son. Upon learning the truth of his past from a burning bush, Moses returns to Egypt with God on his side and demands that the pharaoh (now his brother Rameses) must "Let my people go." With songs written by Oscar-winner Stephen Schwartz and sung by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, The Prince of Egypt covers all the classic story points of the story of Moses, including the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. ~ Arthur Borman, RoviReview
As many critics correctly noted, Dreamworks missed a golden opportunity in its first animated feature to assert a distinct visual style, preferring to imitate the familiar Disney look, hence paying its primary competitor a huge compliment. But The Prince of Egypt still exists as a mature first foray into the market by the young studio. It's nothing if not grand, complete with towering pyramids, electric chariot races, and a first-rate parting of the Red Sea. The film's greater accomplishment is making The Bible accessible to those unwilling to slog through chapter and verse -- namely, children. Hearing the idiosyncratic and inescapably modern speech patterns of Sandra Bullock and Jeff Goldblum may take viewers completely out of the Biblical moment, but those with greater screen time, notably Ralph Fiennes as Rameses, fare much better. The hit title song, popularized by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, lends a certain frivolity to religious characters and situations that might be conveyed more soberly -- a necessary part of selling the film as a phenomenon of multiple media. But the animators make up for it with their dignified renderings of the landscape and its people, showing a particular ability to wow with their chilling depiction of the ten plagues, as remarkable for what's left unseen as what's visualized. The Prince of Egypt is a tight and effective depiction of brothers torn apart by their differing beliefs in the right course of action, simultaneously personal and large-scale -- a solid story on its own, which also happens to be the foundation for both Christian and Jewish scripture. ~ Derek Armstrong, RoviCast
- Val Kilmer - Moses / God
- Ralph Fiennes - Rameses
- Michelle Pfeiffer - Tzipporah
- Sandra Bullock - Miriam
- Jeff Goldblum - Aaron
Credit
Kathy Altieri - Art Director, Richard Chavez - Art Director, Ron Rocha - Associate Producer, Leslee Feldman - Casting, Kelly Kimball - Costume Designer, Stephen Hickner - Director, Simon Wells - Director, Brenda Chapman - Director, Jeffrey Katzenberg - Executive Producer, Hans Zimmer - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Schwartz - Songwriter, Darek Gogol - Production Designer, Penney Finkelman Cox - Producer, Sandra Rabins - Producer, Lon E. Bender - Sound/Sound Designer, Wylie Stateman - Sound/Sound Designer, Don Paul - Special Effects Supervisor, Dan Philips - Special Effects Supervisor, Philip Lazebnik - Screenwriter, Nick Fletcher - Supervising Editor, Christophe Lautrette - Layout| The Prince of Central Park (1977 Film), The Prince of Avenue A. (1920 Film) | |
| The Prince of Homburg (1977 Film), The Prince of Homburg (1997 Film) |
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